By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
September 29, 2024
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Mark 9:38–50 (ESV)
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. 42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
I have been a minister of the gospel for twenty-one years. I have heard many messages presented and I have spoken many times over those years. I have sat in meetings, I have listened to leaders talk and debate. I have participated in many of those debates. Over that time frame I have witnessed many things. Things that surprise me at times, as well as things that do not.
People like to look at church leaders as if they have everything together. We assume that to be a leader within a church those individuals have it all together. I want you to know, pastors and every leader you come into contact with in the world all have problems. This is why Paul in his letter to Timothy actually advises people against entering into the leaders, even though we see the letter to Timothy as a handbook or guidelines to finding good leaders.
There are basically two types of leaders. Those that want the power and influence and those that do it reluctantly, they simply step up because something needs to be done. In Timothy, Paul says in the third chapter, “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach…” He then makes a list of what we should be looking for in a leader. I encourage you to read the letter wrote to that young pastor serving in Ephesus. I encourage you to consider what it is Paul is telling him as he writes those words. But I challenge you to read it with the understanding that in Ephesus, women are the dominate religious practitioners in their society. And this personal conversation between a young pastor and his mentor is his encouragement given to a man serving in a position that culturally was different.
I begin in this way because, in today’s passage we can see the humanity of the disciples. We often read through the pages of scripture, we see the words on the pages, but often we come away from the stories with the idea that these first disciples were magnificent people. We might recognize a few instances of their humanity like when Peter denies Christ at the trial, or when Thomas doubts, but there are instances throughout the pages where the disciples are so human. They jockey for power and influence, they miss the point that Jesus is trying to make, they twist the words that he clearly says and interpret them to mean the opposite because they want him to say something different. Yet Jesus continues to hang out with these annoying individuals.
That is the most important thing right there. Jesus continues to hang out with them, he continues to teach them and encourage them. They constantly contradict him. They are persistent in their almost willful ignorance. And yet Jesus continues to encourage them.
The best parts of the bible is when Jesus shows a bit of his annoyance with them, like in Matthew 15:16, where he says, “Are you also still without understanding?” When Peter asks him to explain a parable to them. Jesus literally calls them stupid or dull. I laugh every time I read that. I laugh because I am right there with the disciples. I have been a pastor for twenty-one years. The majority of my adult life has been preaching and teaching scripture to the Meetings I serve, and yet I am right there with the disciples. I still find myself amazed at my own lack of understanding.
In case you were wondering what parable Peter struggled with, it was the blind leading the blind into a pit. We might laugh at Peter’s lack of understanding, but if we take the time to really examine our own lives, we would find that we can easily find ourselves in that situation. We can find ourselves listening to someone that might say the things we want to hear, and we follow them. We follow without even taking a second to consider what they mean, and suddenly we find ourselves speaking and doing things we never would have done had we not blindly followed.
Today, Jesus rags on one of his closest friends, John. Mark does not often single John out in his gospel accounts, usually John is mentioned in conjunction with his brother James. They tend to get into these ridiculous schemes where the plead with Jesus to call fire down from heaven to consume a city that did not react the way they wanted to, or they with their mother are trying to convince Jesus to letting them sit at the right and left when he comes into his kingdom. But today John is not mentioned with his brother. This means John spoke and people remembered what John said.
“John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’”
This seems like a innocent enough thought, John was jealously protecting his teacher. He loved Jesus and wanted to make sure no one was cheapening his authority. “We tried to stop him,” John says. He not only took offense but he actively engaged.
To get a better view of what is going on, it is important to back up a bit. Jesus and his disciples had recently made a trip to the northern boarder of the ancient land of Israel. They visited Caesarea Philippi. This city was named after Caesar and Herod Philip the tetrarch. This particular son of Herod the Great, is one we only hear about a few times because he inherited the land of Herod’s kingdom that is not often associated with Israel. But he is very much from Herod’s immoral dynasty. His brother, Antipas was the one that killed Jesus’s cousin John the baptist because he promised his daughter anything she wanted up to half his kingdom because he enjoyed her sensual dancing, who was not his daughter but his step-daughter. His step-daughter from his older brother and his wife, who Antipas happened to take for his own wife. This woman was not only the ex-wife of his brother, but she was his cousin, the daughter of his father’s sister.
Philip ended up marrying Antipas’s dancing step-daughter, he married his niece. And the reason they kept things in the family is because they were concerned with maintaining their power and influence. They did not trust outsiders, they could not even truly trust their own family, but they wanted the power, and the only way to maintain that power was to keep outside influences at bay.
Caesarea Philippi was a city rebuilt in honor of the Emperor, and this honor untied the power of Philip in that region with the Emperor. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this city was not merely a center of Emperor worship, but it was the city at the base of Mount Hermon, the mountain where many pagan religions believed their deities descended from the heavens to the earth. And it was also the site of a system of caves called Pan’s grotto, the gates of hell, or tartarous. It was at that place Jesus asked the disciples the most important question, “Who am I?”
Their response was championed by Peter, who said that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus then took Peter, James and John up to the top of a mountain to pray. We are not specifically told what mountain they climbed but given the location they were in, we could assume they climbed Mount Hermon. On the top of that mountain, Jesus was transfigured before them. We are told that his clothes became radiant and intensely white. And he met with Moses and Elijah, and from the clouds they heard a voice telling them that Jesus was God’s beloved Son, and that they should listen to him.
They left that mountain, and as they traveled home, they were met by a man whose son was often gripped by an unclean spirit. Jesus met with the man, he healed the child, and then the man asked why his disciples could not drive out the demon. Jesus told that man that, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
They continued to travel home, and Jesus taught them as they went, but the disciples, because of their ignorance could not understand and instead of asking questions to show their lack of knowledge they argued about which of them was the greatest. As they met to eat Jesus asked them what they were discussing along the way and they were shamed into silence. But as he spoke to them he brought a child before them and said, “whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Last week I mentioned that Jesus was telling us to encourage the world around us. To be open to the questions and walk with someone as they grow into faith. From here we can understand John’s interaction more fully. He saw someone outside of their group casting out demon’s in Jesus’ name. And John actively tried to stop him. Jesus responded, “Do not stop him,” This is a commanding verb. And Jesus speaks so passionately about it because John failed to listen to what Jesus said just one verse prior.
When Jesus brought that child, probably one of Peter’s children, in front of him he was telling them to encourage everyone in the faith. Yet John openly admitted to the opposite. He was trying to restrict. Jesus understands our passions. He understood that John greatly desired to honor Jesus, this is why he is referred to as the disciple Jesus loved, at least by John himself. Jesus challenged John, this beloved disciple and said, “For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.”
Often when people read this passage they are struck by Jesus’s teaching. Its something hard to understand because the context is difficult. Some might say that this is a call to unity, others might say that it is a statement of universalism. We often get caught in the narrow view because we are not looking at the wider picture.
The wider picture is attached to the disagreement of who is the greatest among the disciples. The wider picture is about Jesus telling his disciples if you want to be great you need to become the servant of all. The wider picture is that they were concerned with power and influence, they were wanting to make a Christ centered Caesarea Philippi, where they could be honored along side their great teacher when he overcame the might of the emperor and the tetrarch.
We focus on the power. We focus on the miracles. We want to see and experience the greatness of that divine energy flowing through us. Jesus is telling us that is something that can and will happen, but it is not where our focus should be. The focus is receiving the child, it is offering the cup of water. True power and influence is not in the big showy display but it is in the small seemingly insignificant act of serve.
Do not stop people from ministering in the name of Christ, but instead encourage them. This is something that is seen in the interactions of that great apostle Priscilla and her husband Aquila. They had ministered with Paul, they had gone out into the world to encourage others in the church, and they came into contact with a man named Apollos. Apollos was from Alexandria, he is said to have learned under the school of Philo. He was a logical teacher, a man that was attempting to spread the truth of the one true God using the understanding of the Greek culture. And he taught the baptism of John the Baptist. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak, they did not go and challenge him with the teachings of Jesus, instead they encouraged him, they took the time to listen to his story and answer his questions. And as they encouraged him, they were able to teach him about Christ. Apollos became a great minister of the Gospel, his influence was so great he was included in the list of rivalries of the early church leaders.
Apollos was active in ministry, and this couple did not call him out instead they gently encouraged him. They empowered him. This is what Jesus is teaching the beloved disciple John. So what if they are a Baptist and we are Quaker, encourage them where they are.
Now we come to one of the most misused portions of this interaction. Mark has not indicated that they have left the house so as we read this the child is still there with Jesus in front of them. John has made this statement, and had listened to Jesus’ rebuke. And the child is still there. This is not a fire and brimstone message, but one of intimate encouragement. Jesus had just said that it is the cup of water that is more important than if you have the right credentials. He then continues, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”
This phrase, “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,” can also be translated as stumble or offend. The King James translation uses the term offend, “and whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believes in me.” I want us to think about that for a moment. What is your initial reaction to that phrase? The King James version was and is the most widespread English translation, and unfortunately language has changed from 1611 to today. What was once clear centuries ago has become cloudy once again. The little ones that Jesus is speaking of are the children but not only the children, it is everyone that is maturing in their faith. He is using the child as the illustration to the topic.
How would we speak to a child when we are trying to encourage them? We are patient with them as they ask a million questions. They express a desire to help cook dinner so we help them cut the vegetables with the knife, taking their hand in ours as we guide them through the process. That is the image of discipleship. It is walking with someone as they explore their life of faith. It is encouraging them each step along the way.
We often look at the King James translation and we see the word offend and we begin to think it is our duty to rid the world of all offenses. We make laws that legislate behavior, because that behavior is offensive. Why can you not buy alcohol in Kansas after a certain time on Sunday? Its offensive. We get riled up about cancel culture today, friends Christians have been the instigators of cancel culture for centuries, we are now experiencing a return on our investment. And it is not pleasant.
It is not pleasant because its not discipleship. We told people how they should act and we forced them to do it through our laws. We forced without explaining. We did not invest the time to show the little ones why we believe what we believe, we only wanted them to follow the rules. Well in a society where laws can change, when we failed to encourage a deeper understanding of the belief those that do not understand will change the law. And it would have been better if we had a millstone around our neck because now we have to work even harder.
The idea is not offensiveness, it is discipleship. We need to show in our lifestyle and our words. We can say things like “love the sinner but hate the sin,” till we are blue in the face, but our words will not be heard unless we first bring the cold cup of water to the one we are trying to love.
Jesus then gives us a hard teaching. He speaks about “Offending the little ones” or causing them to sin, but he it is almost as if he does not tell us what the offense is. Except if we look at the wider context we will get the deeper understanding. This string of the conversation was initiated by John saying that he saw someone doing something in Jesus’s name, that was not following them. He then said that he tried to stop him. He tried to stop the person from pursuing a life and lifestyle devoted to the name of Christ. Historically we have interpreted this as ridding our society of sin, it is outwardly focused. It is keeping them from doing something offensive. And often when this is played out the problem is not that it offends them but it offends us. We do not like it so we will restrict it. We all grew up with this concept. Your parents hated your music and forbid you from listening. They did not like the person you were dating and forbid you from seeing them only to instigate greater desires within you. This is the plank eye syndrome. We are attempting to take the speck out of the eye of our brother without taking the big board out of our own eye first.
This is why Jesus follows this with, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell.” We could focus on this if I wanted but the point of this all is that we need to walk the walk if we are going to talk the talk. If we want our children to grow into respectable adults, we need to show them what a respectable adult looks like. If we want those within our Meeting to be loyal disciples of Christ, we need to show them the love Christ has for them and us. Examine your own life.
John was offended that someone was casting out demons in the name of Jesus, he tried to stop him from doing so, but moments before Jesus helped a family suffering from the presence of an unclean spirit that John and the other disciples could do nothing for. That man asked why, and Jesus said that kind could only be driven out with prayer. Do you see the irony of the situation. This man that John was rebuking was doing something they could not do. And they could not do it because they were not living the life. They wanted the power and influence yet did not want to serve. They wanted the respect but did not want to receive and encourage the little ones. They wanted to be the greatest in the kingdom but they were ignorant of the kingdom’s nature.
“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
This concludes the conversation they had that day. Jesus tells them you will face trials, you will experience things that will resemble hell on earth. Struggles that you would not wish on your worst enemy. And Jesus tells them that this is a good thing. It is good because it is how we handle the trials of life that speak the most. It is easy to live a pious life when you have enough to eat, when you are not worried about the rent or if you children are literal saints. It is difficult to reflect true faith when everything seems to go wrong. How are we responding in the fiery trials we face today. Are we lashing out in the same manner of those who have no faith or are we continuing to reflect the love of Christ even when it seems as if there is no point.
I began today speaking of the amount of time I have minister among Friends. During this time I have watched leaders become so offended about things others have done that they were beside themselves with rage. They would quote scripture in defense of their actions. I have watched myself become offended and enter into arguments that were completely unproductive and if I wanted to be honest probably caused more harm than good. I have watched it in others, I have observed it in myself. If Jesus were here today I am certain he would say to me, “are you still without understanding, are you still so dull or ignorant.” And I would have to honestly confess yes. I am all you say and more. But Jesus does not leave us in that place. He, like he did with John so long ago, tells us, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Stop focusing on what others are doing wrong, and focus on what you are doing wrong. Stop legislating based on offense, instead encourage. That is the point of salt, it is an additive, it makes things better. Without salt we are bland, and if we have too much salt we can cause harm. If what we have loses the saltiness, if our faith is no longer additive and encouraging what are we doing? We have become instruments of our own destruction instead of agents of hope. We have become just like the world instead of becoming the light to the nations. We have become the dividers instead of healers.
It is not about having power and influence. The life, the lifestyle God is calling us to. The redemption Jesus came to ensure for each of us, the restored life we were created to live in. A life of mutual profit with each other and creation. We do not get to this life by arguing and demands, we obtain that life through submitting to God and to each other. We can have that life if we confess Jesus as our Lord and clothing ourselves in his life and lifestyle.
Previous Messages:
Living Stones
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 03, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 2:2–10 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have…
Endure
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 26, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 4 (Faith and Practice of EFC-MAYM pg 61) Do you provide for the suitable Christian education and recreation of your children and those under your care, and…
Ransomed to Love
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 19, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:17–23 (ESV) 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time…
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